Mitch Miller was many things – musician, record company executive, A&R man, singer, conductor, band leader and producer, but to millions of Americans he was the host of the popular television series and number one albums entitled Sing Along With Mitch. Although his music was far from rock ‘n roll, he is considered one of the most influential people in popular music. He is also often credited for inventing what would later be called karaoke because of the “bouncing ball” he used over the songs’ lyrics as the music was broadcast into homes during the ’50s and ’60s. As an A&R man and producer for Columbia Records, Miller helped create stars out of the likes of Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Rosemary Clooney. Many songs he produced have since become pop standards. He also discovered Aretha Franklin and signed her to her very first record deal until she was courted away by Atlantic Records. Mitch Miller was 99 when he passed away on July 31, 2010.
When Jim Reeves graduated from college, he played semi-pro baseball until he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944. An ankle injury put the brakes on his baseball career while still in the farm system. Reeves soon turned his sights on music and by the late ’40s was making records and was part of Moon Mulican’s band. Reeves later made his solo radio debut on the highly influential program, Louisiana Hayride, reportedly as a last minute replacement for Hank Williams. He eventually signed with RCA Records where, with the help of producer, Chet Atkins he released a string of hits including “Four Walls” and “He’ll Have To Go.” His smooth voice and style came to exemplify the “Nashville Sound.” Jim Reeves died when the small plane he was piloting crashed in bad weather over Tennessee. He was 40 years old.
Teddy Wilson was a much respected jazz pianist who came from the great music city of Austin, TX. His smooth-as-silk style could be heard on recordings by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman and Billie Holiday. One of Wilson’s first professional gigs was playing alongside Bennny Goodman and Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman Trio, later a quartet with the addition of Lionel Hampton. When he joined the trio, Wilson became the first known African-American to perform professionally in public with a previously all-white group. With the help of legendary producer, John Hammond, Wilson recorded some 50 hit records throughout the late ’30s. By the ’40s, he was leading his own sextet, and by the ’50s, he was teaching at Julliard. Wilson spent the last couple of decades of his life quietly enjoying his life close to home until his passing of natural causes on 1986.
Baatin (Born Titus Glover)
March 8, 1974 – July 31, 2009
Coming to prominence in the Detroit’s underground rap scene of the ’90s, Baatin was part of the popular rap group, Slum Village. The group released several albums throughout it’s career, including a couple for Capitol Records. Baatin left the group in 2002 due to undisclosed health reasons. He passed away at the age of 35 on July 31, 2009. Cause of death was not been released.
Lee Young was a respected jazz drummer, record producer, and A&R man who is credited for discovering Steely Dan. He was also the younger brother of famed jazz saxophonist, Lester Young. Throughout his career, he’s played with Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Lionel Hampton, and Benny Goodman. He was the drummer in the Nat King Cole Trio during the ’50s. Lee Young passed away in his home at the age of 94.
Richard “Scar” Lopezwas an original member of Cannibal & The Headhunters, a group of singers from East Los Angeles who are considered to the first Mexican American group to have a national hit record with “Land Of A Thousand Dances.” The odds of making a record that would become one of the most famous songs in rock history have got to be at least a million to one. And even less likely, is to find yourself sharing the bill with the Beatles on their legendary 1965 US tour. Cannibal & the Headhunters did just that. Lopez was just a high school kid living in East L.A. when he and brothers, Joe “Yo Yo” Jaramilloand Bobby “Rabbit” Jaramillodiscovered they could create a special harmony when singing together. Within a short time, they teamed up with another local singer by the name of Frankie “Cannibal” Garcia to form the group that would soon be called Cannibal & The Headhunters, with Garcia as front man. After passing an audition for local record executive Eddie Davis, Cannibal & The Headhunters signed to his Rampart Records. They were soon in the studio recording “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” a song co-written by Fats Domino which was already a local hit by another artist. But it was their version of the song that shot to Billboard’s top 30 in April of 1965, and they were fast becoming the pride of East L.A. Before long, the group found themselves on the road sharing the stage with such superstars as the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Ben E. King, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett and Tom Jones. They were also invited to perform on “Hullabaloo,” a national rock ‘n roll variety show that counted Paul McCartney as one of its fans. The story goes that McCartney saw the boys on “Hullabaloo” and requested that manager Brian Epstein bring them on tour with the Beatles. The group were soon flying around the country playing before tens of thousands of screaming Beatles fans at each stop. That tour included the Beatles’ legendary Shea Stadium and Hollywood Bowl shows. Legend has it that the Headhunters were exciting the crowds so much, that Epstein asked their manager to have them ease up a bit on stage. Back home after the tour, the guys started to make more records, but were never able to recapture the hysteria that sparked from that first huge hit. By 1967, Cannibal & The Headhunters had broken up and Lopez went on to become a landscaper, but the group occasionally reunited for special events. Richard “Scar” Lopez was 65 when he died of lung cancer on July 30, 2010.
Saxophonist Don Myrick was the section leader for the Phenix Horns, Esq and lent his talents to hit recordings by Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins during the ’70s and early ’80s. Prior to his seven years with Earth, Wind & Fire, Myrick played witht he likes of Bobby “Blue” Bland, Stanley Turrentine, Grover Washington Jr., and Carlos Santana. In 1978, Myrick won a Best Instrumental Grammy for his superb playing on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Runnin’.” Myrick also had a drug problem that lead to his tragic death in 1993. While serving a warrent on a drug investigation, an LAPD officer knocked on Myrick’s apartment door. After no answer, the officer entered the home with a key provided by the property manager to find Myrick standing there with what he believed to be a weopen in his hand. The officer immediately shot and killed Myrick who was actually holding a barbeque lighter. A search of the apartment apparently turned up a small amount of crack cocaine. Two years later, Myrick’s widow was awarded $400,000 in a wrongful death suit against the City of Los Angeles.
Biggie Tembo was the charismatic lead singer and primary songwriter for the Zimbabwe band, Bhundu Boys. Formed in 1981, the Bhundu Boys were very popular thanks to their unique style that married the local “chimurenga” music with elements of American rock, disco and country. During the mid ’80s, their music began turning on new fans beyond Africa. Both Elvis Costello and Eric Clapton raved about them, and Madonna invited them to open her Wembley Stadium. Due to internal politics, Tembo left the band in 1990. He committed suicide five years later.
As a producer, Sam Phillips was one of the key architects of early rock ‘n roll. What he helped create in his Sun Studios would become the foundation on which current popular music was built. Phillips opened his Memphis recording studio in 1950 to make records for his own label, Sun Records. One of his early recordings was Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” that many consider the first rock ‘n roll record ever. Other future legends he worked with were B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Rufus Thomas and Howlin’ Wolf, whom he considers his greatest discovery. Of course most consider his OTHER “discovery” to be his greatest – Elvis Presley. Phillips recorded some of the biggest early records by some of the greatest names in rock history. They included hits by Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis,Carl Perkins, Ike Turner, and Roy Orbison. Sam Phillips died of respiratory failure at the age of 80.
Roddis “Pete” Drake
October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988
L-R: Pete Drake, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Peter Frampton, Billy Preston
Pete Drake was an in-demand Nashville producer and pedal steel guitarist during the ’60s and ’70s. In 1950, Drake formed an Atlanta based band that included Joe South, Doug Kershaw, Jerry Reed and Roger Miller. He later moved to Nashville where he played on hits by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lynn Anderson, Tammy Wynette, Joan Baez, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. While in Nashville he developed a unique device to play his guitar through – it was called a “talk box” and it would reach the masses in later recordings by Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh. Drake died of lung cancer on July 29, 1988. Pete Drake passed away of natural causes on July 29, 1988.
Mitch Miller was many things – musician, record company executive, A&R man, singer, conductor, band leader and producer, but to millions of Americans he was the host of the popular television series and number one albums entitled Sing Along With Mitch. Although his music was far from rock ‘n roll, he is considered one of the most influential people in popular music. He is also often credited for inventing what would later be called karaoke because of the “bouncing ball” he used over the songs’ lyrics as the music was broadcast into homes during the ’50s and ’60s. As an A&R man and producer for Columbia Records, Miller helped create stars out of the likes of Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Rosemary Clooney. Many songs he produced have since become pop standards. He also discovered Aretha Franklin and signed her to her very first record deal until she was courted away by Atlantic Records. Mitch Miller was 99 when he passed away on July 31, 2010.
Teddy Wilson was a much respected jazz pianist who came from the great music city of Austin, TX. His smooth-as-silk style could be heard on recordings by the likes of 
Coming to prominence in the Detroit’s underground rap scene of the ’90s, Baatin was part of the popular rap group, Slum Village. The group released several albums throughout it’s career, including a couple for Capitol Records. Baatin left the group in 2002 due to undisclosed health reasons. He passed away at the age of 35 on July 31, 2009. Cause of death was not been released.
Lee Young was a respected jazz drummer, record producer, and A&R man who is credited for discovering Steely Dan. He was also the younger brother of famed jazz saxophonist, 
As a producer, Sam Phillips was one of the key architects of early rock ‘n roll. What he helped create in his Sun Studios would become the foundation on which current popular music was built. Phillips opened his Memphis recording studio in 1950 to make records for his own label, Sun Records. One of his early recordings was 
The Music's Over 